Mungyeong City in Gyeongbuk has adjusted the collection time for household waste from 4-5 a.m. to after 6 a.m. starting this year as part of measures to ensure a safe working environment for sanitation workers and follow-up actions related to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
Before the change in working hours, sanitation workers began collection tasks in the dark early morning hours, raising concerns about safety accidents. However, with the shift to after 6 a.m., it is expected that a safer working environment will be established.
Additionally, issues such as leftover trash being abandoned after cleaning during the early morning collection have improved as a secondary effect of the change in working hours.
On the other hand, a negative aspect is that household waste near disposal sites is still being collected after business opening hours and workers’ arrival times due to the delayed collection schedule.
As a countermeasure, Mungyeong City plans to minimize inconvenience to citizens by maximizing work efficiency through increasing the number of cleaning vehicles, operating mobile collection teams, and adjusting work zones.
Furthermore, the city plans to introduce low-floor cleaning vehicles to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries caused by the high floor height of existing cleaning trucks, and equip them with safety devices such as compression cover safety mechanisms and external work confirmation cameras to ensure both work efficiency and safety.
A Mungyeong City official stated, “Securing a safe working environment for field workers is a trend of the times. We will do our best to minimize citizens’ inconvenience caused by changes in sanitation workers’ working hours through measures such as adding cleaning vehicles, aiming to achieve both a ‘Safe Mungyeong’ and a ‘Clean Mungyeong.’”
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